The present invention involves a device which can be removably applied to one or more tent poles in order to stabilize a tent against collapse from external forces such as high velocity winds.
Tents are provided in a myriad of shapes and sizes, most of which are designed for backpack and hiking applications and are designed to be lightweight and collapsible. Such tents seem to share certain basic design criteria shown generally in reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 depicts a somewhat schematic skeletal view of a typical lightweight portable tent of the type to which the present invention is intended to improve upon. Tent 10 is provided with a fabric cover 12 and one or more doors or windows 12 to provide entrance and egress from the tent""s interior. Tents of this type are further provided with a plurality of poles 13 which are generally collapsible and, when installed to support the tent volume, are under tension. Each tent pole 13 has a length and distal end 30 which is intended to be releasably captured by eyelet 25 (FIGS. 2 and 3) for supporting tent 10 on support surface 15.
Although tents such as that shown in FIG. 1 are lightweight, reasonably sturdy and readily collapsible, they do suffer from a certain degree of instability. Specifically, if high velocity winds impact the fabric cover 12 of tent 10, poles 13 can torque out of alignment. If wind velocities are high enough and at the appropriate angle, a catastrophic failure can occur where the entire tent collapses upon itself. Obviously, the consequences of a tent collapse when weather conditions are inclement could, in extreme cases, be life-threatening.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, easy to apply and completely removable stabilizing device for making tents of the type shown in FIG. 1 more resistant to collapse.
This and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.
The present invention involves a device to stabilize a tent. Tents which can employ such a device generally comprise fabric cover and a plurality of poles. The poles each have a length and a substantially circular cross-section and each pole is stressed under tension for engaging a portion of the fabric cover. Each of the poles further is provided with distal ends for engaging a support surface such as the ground upon which the tent resides. The device comprises two rods connected to one another at a connector. The connector is characterized as being able to be attached to a tent pole at a predetermined location. This location is maintained by various means while the distance between the two rods is also fixed. Such a device, when properly installed, greatly enhances the stability of the tent to which it is appended.